Rhimes has now admitted that the uncertainty has affected her planning, saying: "I don't know what I'm going to do at the end of the season yet. Until we know [who's coming back], we just don't know [how the season will end]. So we're taking it in a different way."

She continued: "We're looking at it in segments. We're planning the first half of the season [at the moment] and then I'll plan the second half of the season when I know more stuff."